Fair Labor Standards Act India: What Is Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
The Fair Labor Standards Act is a law that sets the rules and regulations for minimum wage, overtime page eligibility, recordkeeping and child labor for all full-time and part-time workers in both public and private sectors.
Table of Content
- What Is the History of the Fair Labor Standards Act?
- What Violates the Fair Labor Standards Act
- Who Gets Affected by the Fair Labor Standards Act
- Can the Employee’s Scheduled Number of Work Hours Be Changed?
- What Are the FLSA Standards for Overtime
- What Are the Rules of the FLSA
- What Are Labor Standards Act No 49 of 1947
- What Is the FLSA in HRM?
What Is the History of the Fair Labor Standards Act?
The fair labor standards act originally started under President Franklin Roosevelt’s new deal, which had a significant impact in the United States. Later on, in India, the labor laws arose due to the bad conditions of workers in many organizations.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) was the first one to deal with labor issues. The ILO was an agency that followed the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I.
Post world war, there was a requirement of labor union protection. In 1918, in Great Britain, the Whitley Commission recommended for the “industrial councils” to be established throughout the world.
The Americans made 10 proposals to it including that the children under 14 years of age won’t work as labors. The work hours will be 44 throughout the week, which later changed to 40-hour work week, and there was a demand for an equal pay for both women and men working on the same position.
The FLSA is still around today, you can find it in Fair Labor Standards Act news.
What Violates the Fair Labor Standards Act
Firing an employee or discriminating against them because they have filed a complaint or have participated in a legal proceeding is totally against the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Besides that, the wage and hour division should be proper or else there can be an investigation against it; these investigations start with complaints. Still, they pose some sort of threat, despite being illegal, of being discriminated against within the organization. Hence, they’re always kept confidential.
Nothing related to the name of the person who has filed a complaint and the type of complaint it is is ever disclosed. Although there can be an exception to it, when the case requires us to reveal these details, they’re disclosed only with the permission of the complainant.
Who Gets Affected by the Fair Labor Standards Act
All the full-time and part-time employees working in either public or private sectors get affected by these Fair Labor Standards Act’s laws.
It also includes people working overtime who must be compensated for their working hours on time as per Fair Labor Standards Act overtime. Also, all the employees should fill in a time and attendance record for it to be comply with the Fair Standards Act.
Can the Employee’s Scheduled Number of Work Hours Be Changed?
Yes, the FLSA permits it to change the schedule of the employees.
There are certain situations where your employer needs to change your schedule as there might be a need for it. However, if it’s happening often and ruining your work-life balance, then you have the right to raise a complaint to resolve this issue.
The best way to do it is to begin a conversation with your boss.
If it doesn’t solve the issue, then you should talk to the HR and try to solve this issue internally.
But if none of those work either, then it’s time that you should seek legal advice and if you suspect that there are chances that your employer might also be violating the labor laws, then you can also consider talking to a legal professional.
What Are the FLSA Standards for Overtime
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, if your employee is working more than 40 hours (about 1 and a half days) work, then they should be paid overtime wage and that on time.
Along with that, the rate of this overtime pay should not be less than the time and one-half of their regular rate.
What Are the Rules of the FLSA
The common rules of Fair Labor Standard Act are:
- Children under 14 should not be doing any labor, except in farm fields and family business.
- The work hours are 40 hours (about 1 and a half days) per week, if that exceeds that then the employer should pay for overtime to the employees.
- The employer has the right to reschedule an employee’s day as per the requirements.
- The wages paid to both men and women for the same position should be equal.
- The employee who files the complaint for the investigation to of the employer if they’re violating the rules of FLSA should not be discriminated or fired—although, these complaints always remain confidential unless there’s a strong reason for revealing the information of the person who filed a complaint; that is also done with his or her permission.
What Are Labor Standards Act No 49 of 1947
According to Labor Standards Act No 49 of 1947, an employer cannot dismiss a worker during a period when they’re absent from work due to medical treatments.
What Is the FLSA in HRM?
The law is the same as we discussed above; these laws are subjected to fair labor wages, hours, and prevent any discrimination in the workplace due to pay.